Devon McGowan, Jenks

One quote that particularly stuck out to me that I believe epitomizes much of our previous classroom discussion, reads as follows:

“The great advantage and delight of multivalence is the continual reinterpretation it prompts, a result of the multiple links between the work and its settings. This unlimited semiosis (the continual discovery of new meaning in works that are rich in external and internal associations) is characteristic of both postmodernism and inclusive art in general.” (290)
In the ever changing postmodern world we are experiencing today, it has shown to be true that no longer, like in previous times, is there an ultimate, absolute central meaning or universal truth, but rather meanings are created based off a system of connections and making references that are fluid and, likewise, have the ability to change. There is not a single approach or method of interpretation that is believed by all, but there is a plurality of methods and interpretations that can be employed and stand as true, simultaneously. Absolutism no longer exists in the interpretation of such things as art and architecture in which both the author and audience have the ability to assign multiple meanings to the same piece, depending on their own individual experience and the connections they each have personally made. The author or artist is force to make choices and lends faith to his/her audience, knowing that the initial choices he/she had made are no longer within and are out in the open to be reevaluated and reassigned. Context also plays a key role in how the piece can be interpreted and reinterpreted, and it appears as if this room for multiplicity in interpretation forces the audience to unify the text as a whole on his/her own. We all play active, participatory roles in this process of interpreting and lending meaning, and it is through this process that connections are generated, borrowed, and reproduced. And although this process may provide for some instability for it is not certain nor predictable by any means, it does support the notion of being able to experiment and create something that is all together new.